Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fire Chief Chides Council Over Training

Prescott Fire Chief Ben Gumerson had a litany of complaints for the Prescott City Council.

At the council's regular monthly meeting Monday, June 19, Gumerson said he had submitted a list of problems to Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor in November, 1999, but had heard nothing about them.

He informed the council action needs to be taken so the Prescott Fire Department doesn't lose its Insurance Service Organization (ISO) certification. Homeowner fire insurance costs are based on ISO ratings of fire departments.

The loss of ISO rating levels would mean increases in the cost of insurance premiums for homeowners.

Gumerson, in fact, told the board if training isn't done soon the PFD may not be qualified to respond to emergencies it does now.

Some of the courses firemen are required to take are 32 hours, he said, but none have been done in Nevada County yet. In addition, area rural fire departments also participate in these classes in order to maintain their level of certification.

Part of the problem Gumerson presented to the council was the lack of assistance in getting meeting rooms set up and not always having rooms large enough for such meetings.

He said many of the training courses have been held in the council's meeting room, but it isn't large enough for all of them.

The Potlatch Building on the Nevada County Fairgrounds has also been used, he said, but chairs aren't always available for the firemen.

To date, he said, no training sessions or courses have been scheduled for this year.

Last year the PFD participated in the bare minimum of training it could get away with and maintain its ISO rating, he said.

The next classes will be held in the upcoming quarter of the year, and Prescott and Nevada County firefighters need to be involved in them.

Gumerson said a list is sent to him six months in advance of any training session.

However, he added, many members of the PFD have problems making all of the sessions needed because of their regular jobs.

His list continued with a fire truck at the bus garage at Prescott High School needing to be tested annually and not having been tested this year.

The tools and equipment on the truck, hoses, ladders and such, he said, have been stolen because the garage is open and accessible to anyone.

This truck is kept on the south side of the railroad tracks for emergency situations in case the other trucks were blocked by a train and couldn't make it across town.

He added the school wants this truck out of its garage.

If the truck isn't running, Gumerson said, it needs to be dropped from the PFD inventory so it won't affect the department's ISO rating.

The training firefighters need is mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Fire Prevention Association.

But, he said, the training needed can't be done with the firemen meeting only two nights a month. He said half of this time is taken in checking inventory, with the rest being used for structural firefighting.

More practice, he continued, would require having the crews meet another night.

Confined space training, primarily for Potlatch and Firestone, he said, is also required training. Last year the PFD spent more time doing this training at Potlatch than any other training, Gumerson told the council.

Firestone, he said, wants a written agreement with the PFD saying the department will provide this training. "It's almost beyond the scope of volunteers. We need a confined space rescue team within 15 minutes of a location."

Confined space training, he said, used to be the responsibility of the companies involved, but has since been placed on fire departments.Gumerson said the PFD needs one or two more nights a month for training the firemen. Firefighters are paid $50 per meeting on drill nights and $25 for fighting fires.

His next complaint was a lack of communication from the Prescott Water Department.

Hydrants in the city are tested by Water Department personnel, but those not working aren't reported to the PFD. Gumerson said the PFD needs to be checking the hydrants so it will know which work and which need to be repaired.

He also is seeking the layout of all buildings in Prescott, along with a list of their contents and what the buildings are made of. With this list, he said, firefighters would know what to expect in case of a fire.

At one time, he said, the top of hydrants were painted black if they didn't work. This, though, isn't being done now.

In a nutshell, Gumerson asked the council to help make sure these problems are corrected.

Taylor said he would look into the complaints, promising to make sure the firemen had somewhere to meet. But, he asked for a week's notice so conflicts could be avoided with the building.

Then Gumerson dropped another bomb on the council, saying to get the necessary training the city may have to pay for it. When presented earlier in the year, he said, it's free.

Councilman Howard Austin told Gumerson he should come to council meetings more often and not wait until a problem builds before addressing it.

Karen Ward, another councilman, said the council's job isn't to micro manage the different departments, but to oversee all of them.